Miami Heat: Brian Windhorst talks about how they discovered Duncan Robinson

The Miami Heat found a diamond in Duncan Robinson, softball-sized. There is a really interesting story floating around about how they mined this gem though.

The Miami Heat have long been a team known for their developmental, conditioning, and talent scouting programs. They all go hand in hand and if you really think about it, the Miami Heat have found a way to make a living off of just that.

It actually makes a ton of sense though. They are an organization that believes in hard work in all other aspects, so why not keep that same energy in the background processes that go into putting a quality product on the floor.

Well, you have to believe that with some of the talents that they have discovered, boosted, or given a platform to shine, that they do a ton of hard work in those areas to find them. That’s the science there.

One of those recent discoveries is living proof that it works and that the Miami Heat know exactly what they are doing there. Here’s a hint, he’s currently the best shooter in the league if you ask me.

Yep, if you guessed Duncan Robinson, then you guessed right. An absolute sniper of a shooter from deep, Robinson started his career off at a small Division III college before being invited to join John Beilein’s Michigan team. He then went undrafted, before the Miami Heat scooped him up as an undrafted free agent.

There is actually a neat story going around about the topic. Here it is, per the Twitter account of WPLG reporter Clay Ferraro, via the podcast, Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective. 

The Miami Heat know how to find ‘diamonds in the rough’. Well, Duncan Robinson is worth his weight in carats.

He details the exact instance when the Heat first saw Robinson in a workout. Here is what Windhorst said of the instance.

"And so Duncan Robinson was having this workout, and Chet Kammerer (Miami Heat Senior Advisor Of Basketball Operations/Basketball) just decides to drive over there. In fact, I think the story goes, if I’m not mistaken, he was stuck in traffic and worried he was going to be late or something. Something like that happened.And so he walks in there and apparently, Duncan Robinson puts on one of the greatest shooting displays that Chet Kammerer has ever seen. And this is an old school, battle-hardened scout, alright.He doesn’t overreact to things. And he gets out in the parking lot and calls up Andy Elisburg (Senior Vice President, Basketball Operations/General Manager), the Heat’s general manager and was like, “we have got to get Duncan Robinson, I don’t care whatever else we do in this draft. GET ME DUNCAN ROBINSON!”"

That is quite the story, but a good one, and we are glad it worked out for us, as he is a legit weapon. I mean, you have to be good to go from being a Division III recruited undrafted guy to the 97th best player in the league, according to some.

Either way it goes and again, we are sure glad to have him on our side. When you have a guy like Duncan Robinson, you are always in the game. This, however, is how he was discovered and put in the game in general, in the first place.